NSAC E-Bulletin

Please forward your submissions to the NSAC E-Bulletin to the newsdesk at (news@nsac.ca). for inclusion in the next edition, which run on Monday and Thursday of each week. Remember you can post notices anytime on the NSAC Forums at http://nsac.ca/forums

Visiting Colleagues from Cambodia

NSAC would like to extend a warm welcome to four visitors from the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia. Mr. Sip Pagnasoley, Mrs. Nhem Thary, Mrs. Hing Thida, and Dr. Sann Vathana will be on campus for a two month period, beginning August 7th in association with the “Agri-Education for Extension” project. While here, our colleagues will be taking part in training sessions featuring the expertise of various members of NSAC’s faculty and staff, and touring local agricultural facilities and businesses. The goal of the group’s training mission to NSAC is to increase RUA’s capacity to deliver training to its students through the enhancement of the faculty members’ pedagogical proficiency; development of new curriculum; and increased skill and knowledge in agricultural sciences. Heather-Anne Grant, hgrant@nsac.ca or 896-2453, will be coordinating the visit.

The project is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency’s Canadian Colleges Partnership Program.

For further information, please contact Cara Kirkpatrick, Project Coordinator, at NSAC International at ckirkpatrick@nsac.ca or 893-6726, or Dr. Raj Lada, Project Director, at rlada@nsac.ca or 893-2309.

Annual Hydrant Flushing

This is to advise that the NSAC Physical Plant Department will be doing its annual hydrant flushing today, Thursday, August 9, beginning at 8:00 a.m.

During this period, slight pressure drops and some water discolouration may be experienced, but there will be no disruption to the water supply.

Thank you for your patience and co-operation.

Programs Help Graduates Manage Student Loan Debt

University and college graduates will have more flexibility in managing their student loan debts through two new provincial government programs introduced on August 8th.

The Enhanced Repayment Assistance Program will reduce the payments for graduates who are having difficulty paying their provincial student loans. The Payment Deferral Program will allow graduates to postpone their provincial student loan payments until they can better afford them.

"The Enhanced Repayment Assistance Program is more flexible than the program it replaces so more graduates will be eligible," said Education Minister Karen Casey. "Payment deferral is something new for the province and would be especially attractive to graduates who must accumulate several years of on-the-job experience before they are deemed qualified for a professional designation."

Any graduate or apprentice who has a student loan in good standing can apply for the programs immediately.

A graduate who is finding it difficult to pay a provincial student loan would apply to the Enhanced Repayment Assistance Program through the Department of Education's student loans office. Staff would review the application and consider how much student loan debt the graduate has, how much they earn, how many dependents they have and other factors. More...

NSAC Construction Project

Workers have begun installing a new roof on the Langille Athletic Centre. During this project, employees may notice increased noise and tar fume odours from the application of tar to the roof. There may also be some inconvenience regarding parking.

Please keep posted to the E-Bulletin for construction updates as this project is heavily dependent on favourable weather conditions.

If you have any questions, contact Tricia Lake at 893-6034.

Open House: A Note of Thanks

Once again, a wonderful Open House!!! Your Open House has become an annual event for me and my husband. This year we lucked out – we got to talk to the Plant Dr., the Tree Dr. and the gentleman who made that wonderful rock garden. Every year it gets better, it's never boring and the staff is so friendly and helpful. And to boot you seem to have the weatherman in your pocket! How do you manage to do that?

To everyone there at the Agricultural College who worked so very hard in planning and hosting this event – a great big THANK YOU!!!

Grace and Pieter Dykstra

Cheverie, NS

Ability Management Workshops

Additional Ability Management Workshops are now being provided in Halifax and Truro. If you have not attended a session to date you are encouraged to do so. This workshop will provide you with the information you need to access processes and procedures for Short Term Illness, Long Term Illness and Workers’ Compensation Board Injuries and Illnesses. Your senior management team has agreed that it will be mandatory for management employees to attend. It is the responsibility of managers to ensure their staff are informed. This can be done by employees attending a workshop or the manager providing the information.

The sessions for managers will be morning sessions, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and the employee sessions will be from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Please refer to the schedule below to determine the locations and times.

The Resources Corporate Services Unit and senior management of this department supports the concept of Ability Management / Workplace Accommodation. Ability Management is based on an early return to work relative to the employee’s functional abilities and involves working with employees who become ill or injured, their representatives and service providers to facilitate recovery and restoration to full
potential as quickly as possible.

All illness and injuries, resulting in absences from work, will be managed with a focus on early return to work for employees. This simply means helping employees to get back to the workplace as soon as possible by adjusting their assigned duties to match their functional ability. This may include transitional work (modified/alternate duties or hours), whenever operational requirements permit. Often this approach has proven to facilitate the healing process. Modified duties would allow the employee to return to work on a full-time basis, and be 100 percent productive at selected activities directly associated with their position. Modified hours would allow the recovering employee to
gradually increase his/her hours of attendance over a specified time frame until they progress to a full time basis.

Two training sessions have been scheduled for Truro and Halifax:

Halifax - Founders Square Training Room, (Lower Lobby, next to Rudy’s), 1701 Hollis Street, Sept. 19th and Oct. 31st.

Truro - Riverview Training Room, Jenkins Hall, NSAC, Sept. 26th and Oct. 23rd.

To register, please go to https://learnnet.gov.ns.ca/. If you experience any problems with your registration, please contact Angela Ament at 424-5612.